So, I didn’t make millions of dollars on Bitcoin and quite frankly it pisses me off when I miss bubble like this! At this point, you’re probably tired of hearing about Bitcoin and Blockchain. I’m thankful for the bubble because it forced me to learn what the heck Blockchain is!
I think Blockchain will play a role in TA Technology in the near future. When you think of how we hire people, based on some sort of profile and/or resume, we are putting a ton of trust into something that is basically made up by an individual with little or no checking to know if it’s legit or not.
We know most people exaggerate or flat out lie on their resumes, LinkedIn profiles, Facebook profiles, etc. In a very simple sense, Blockchain is built to ensure that no information about a transaction is lost and it’s validated by everyone else in the network.
What if everyone you hired had a ‘blockchain’ resume? Where you felt 100% confident that everything on their resume or profile was 100% accurate. Sounds very interesting, right!?
I’m not sure, but I think this is where Blockchain plays a role in HR and Talent Acquisition in the future. What if we had ‘one’ unchangeable profile/resume for every single person on the planet? One common way to present all of your education and work experience that was validated. It’s a little big brother-ish to think about, but it’s not beyond reason.
I mean how long until Google forces us all down this path!? 😉
It would definitely make us feel more confident in our hiring. It would force people to rethink not giving notice, starting a job, but then they leave after a few days, all kinds of crazy things we see candidates do but it never ‘hits’ their permanent record. What if your blockchain profile would show the times you accepted an interview, then no call/no showed it!? Oh boy! I would sign up for that!
What’s the benefit to candidates? This is ‘your’ profile. This is your life. You own it. If you did great work at a job and some supervisor that hated you was trying to bad mouth you behind your back, that would no longer work. Your good work would speak for itself. Unchangeable would be the facts.
Plus, Blockchain as a resume profile would be completely transparent. This would make you ‘findable’ to every employer. If you’re a rock star, you should get paid rock star money. A blockchain profile would benefit people who are really good at what they do. It would suck for people who are bottom feeders!
I don’t know if this will happen or could happen, but it’s exciting to think about a world of resumes and profiles that were easy to navigate and completely trustworthy. I can wait for flying cars, let’s get the HR Tech industry on this situation right now!
Absolutely Not! The blockchain’s biggest selling point (unchangeable & verified system of record) is, in this case, also its biggest weakness. If you left off information and it’s unchangeable you are screwed. You are “at risk” of not being able to tell the whole story in the future. Not a fan at all
Honestly, I’m on the fence. On one hand, verifying credentials and experience is a classic problem in HR (I had a friend in high school who got a management job at Jimmy Johns by listing the phone numbers of his friends as “previous supervisor contact information”).
On the other hand, I’m worried that moving these to a blockchain will effectively codify the existing disparities we see in the workplace, particularly in regard to traditionally marginalized groups. It’s no secret that women and minorities generally receive lower performance reviews and fewer recommendations for promotion than their white male counterparts – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The blockchain’s biggest selling point (unchangeable & verified system of record) is, in this case, also its biggest weakness.
Jon-Mark,
I see where you are coming from, but I also believe that Blockchain could have the potential to call out those ‘lower’ performance reviews through peer crowdsourcing. If you work for a racist and sexist manner, that behavior would be harder to hide, since the information would have to be verified by the community.
But, you are correct, nothing is perfect, but lying to get a job, while seemingly the “American way” right now, also isn’t right.
T
I’d be over the moon happy just to see that block chain mentality applied to the ATS so we can see where resumes and applications ACTUALLY come from. Biggest impact block chain could have in recruiting? Source of application.
I know, I know, we think we already know those answers and believe we capture it all and are accurate… we like to lie to ourselves.
Plus 1!
I’m with you, Dan! It’s amazing to me that most organizations really have no idea what their best sources are, and in many cases, we are making hundreds of thousands, if not millions, dollar decisions based on this information.
Google for Jobs is not helping us with this, either. Having candidates ‘choose’ through which path they want to apply, will make ‘source of hire’ even more of a mystery.
T